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Caps Lock on a Mac

  • Started by Korivak
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  • Registered: 20-Oct-2006
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I've been learning Colemak for a couple days now, and so far I'm quite pleased with it.  But I tend to make a lot of typos (it's hard to break two decades of muscle memory), and I'm seeing the value of a Caps Lock Backspace.

Only one problem - it can't be done under OS X.  It doesn't install with the rest of the layout.  It can't be done with fkeys, uControl or DoubleCommand.  Even Ukelele, the program I used to swap 'J' with 'B' and '?' with '/' can't do it. I can turn Caps Lock off or make it one of the other modifier keys (Control, Option or Command), but there's no way that I can find to map it to other non-modifier keys.

Are there any Mac Colemak users out there that have made any progress on this front?

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  • Shai
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I don't have a Mac (imagine how difficult it was to create a working keyboard layout without access to one), but I did E-mail the authors of fKeys and DoubleCommand. The author of DoubleCommand didn't answer my E-mail, but the author of fKeys wrote me that it is indeed possible with fKeys beta 0.2.1 and the right configuration settings. The configuration file kodachi-kinesis-bs.plist demonstrates Caps Lock to Backspace mapping (but it maps also some other things). I suggest all Mac users to write to the authors of these programs to see if they can implement this as a standard feature. You should probably also write Apple and ask them to implement this feature in the OS, so it won't require kernel extension hacks.

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Thank you for taking the time to help out us Switchers.  Having Colemak available on all platforms - even those that you don't use or have access to - is a good indication of how seriously you take your project.

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I remapped with fKeys.
I had to alter the configuration file though to make it compatible with my MacBook Pro.
I emailed the config file back to the author of the program, but i do not know if he has included it.

Post any difficulties you have here, and I will try to help you out.

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im not having any luck getting colemak workint on os x :-/
I've got the basic layout installed just fine, but I can't find any way to map the caps lock key to bacespace.  fkeys 0.2 refuses to install on my system (nothing to install error) and I also can't find a way to make it my default system layout (ie, used before I log in, to type passwords).  Has anyone solved either of these problems?

I'm running an iBook G4 with OS 10.4

I have to say, great job apple, this stuff only took about 10 minutes for me to figure out on linux.

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  • Shai
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0.2.1 is the latest version of fKeys. I've updated the link on Colemak Mac page to that version.

Flynn (the fKeys author) said:

it's a  _huge_ help if the people using the fKeys beta will send me email (fkeys at kodachi dot com) to let me know that they're using it

Last edited by Shai (29-Nov-2006 05:29:22)
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  • From: Houston, Texas
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I emailed this to the fkeys address.

To fkeys at kodachi dot com said:

Hi Sir,

I have fKeys 0.2.1 working great on my white macbook running OS X 10.4.8.

I found fKeys through https://colemak.com .

I am using a a modified version of your macbook configuration files
which I changed based on your kodachi-kinesis-bs config files adapted for colemak style changing of the caps lock to backspace.

  kodachi-macbook-bs.fkx   kodachi-macbook-bs.plist

It is working great to fully implement the standard colemak keyboard layout.

but I also have a G4 Titanium powerbook running OS X 10.3.9 on which I
am using the Colemak keyboard layout.  I decided to run fkeys after
using it on my macbook for the past week.  I discovered that the disc
image file for fKeys 0.2.1 is not compatible with 10.3.9 !

You might want to put "Requires OS X 10.4 or later" immediately under
your download link/button so people know that OS 10.4 +  is required
to uncompress the disc image you provide.  If fKeys is meant to run on
10.3 also you might want to create a more compatible image,  Since I
can use the folder from my macbook, I guess I will be testing whether
it runs on 10.3.9 after I create the configure files.

see here for a dicussion of this compatibility problem:
   http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php? … 9133451185

thanks for creating this program.
best
Craig

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Flynn of kodachi replies said:

Well, fKeys itself will only run as Tiger, as far as I know.  I'm pretty sure that that's mentioned somewhere on the site, but I'll make sure that it shows up right on the download page too.

Oops! I had fogotten reading that in the docs that he had built it using 10.4.6 with xcode 2.2.

He goes on to suggest uControl but on installing that program I discovered that there is no way to reassign the Caps Lock key to Backspace.  You can only convert to things like the Control, Fn, and Command keys.  I am not exactly excited about trying to spend time hacking the source code of an abandoned project. 

I am going to try to get the source code for fKeys working on 10.3.9 . 
Hopefully it will be fairly trivial.

Last edited by keyboard samurai (14-Feb-2007 21:00:01)
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I tried rebuilding fKeys for 10.3.9 SDK using Xcode 2.4.1 on my macbook (10.4.8).

After mucking about in the code for while I decided this was fast becoming unproductive, the developer is using the terminal command line and doesn't have a proper Xcode project file. Hacked the project files he did have so the make file would end up using 10.3.9 SDK and it did build and compile but still fails to link.

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OK, I tried to make the enter key a Caps Lock key using fKeys but found the things I tried didn't work so it doesn't appear to be trivial. I probably will still find the time to ask the author about that.  But for now I am happy with an easy solution that any many ways makes more sense.  I am using the sticky keys option on the OS X universal access pane. So far I am wondering why this is not the default behavior for shift keys on computers!  The following is not for people that know but for those who stumble on this and need a quick and easy . 

Okay, my final solution on my Macbook running Tiger (OS X 10.4.8) is the following and it works great.

1.  go to https://colemak.com/Mac and download and install Colemak.layout   
     (read Shai's warnings - however in Tiger my experience is that the authetication windows and login windows always default to Qwerty layout no matter what I do. On my powerbook that is running Panther (OS X 10.3.9) that is not the case for the authentication windows - they do become Colemak layout by default however it is trivial to change back on the fly if you have turned on the "Show input menu in the menu bar" International preference pane. The login window remains Qwerty in Panther.)

2.  download fKeys beta 0.2.1 and install,  readme file

3.  download the macbook config files from the same beta page and modify them using some cut and paste magic with the Colemak example in the kinesis keyboard config files. Its pretty trivial to do as long as you are careful.   OR you can email me and I will send what I have done.  It still has the config for the powerbook keyboards and when I upgrade my powerbook to Tiger soon I will test it there to be sure.  I have in mind to put up a Colemak for the mac page to put up the files to download.

4. HAVING YOUR CAKE AND EATING IT TOO!  :-)
      get a caps lock back by turning on sticky keys in the accessibilily preference pane
      see here  http://www.apple.com/accessibility/physical/
     
      Actually, this is great and in many ways is more functional than the standard Caps Lock key. 
      I have decided this is better than dedicating another key to caps lock.  All the shift functionality in one key does make a lot
      more sense.  Why is this not standard behavior?  It would be nice I suppose if if you could just make the shift keys sticky
      only. I wonder if that can be done with fKeys?

      Note: I would turn off the beep but the display option is kind of nice for sticky keys.


all this may be obvious to some, but it wasn't to me so I hope its useful to anyone looking at Colemak on a mac. 

Craig

Last edited by keyboard samurai (16-Feb-2007 19:58:22)
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I added a longer version of my post to a new blog I am attempting.

http://texasiaido.wordpress.com/

It includes a link to download of the config files for a Macbook. 
Should work on a Powerbook running Tiger also.

Craig

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  • cmc
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I am having problems mapping caps lock to backspace on my external MacBook Pro Keyboard has anyone solved this or have any clues? More details below. I tried writing the fKeys developer and have gotten no response.

I installed Craig's config for fKeys. It works with the built in keyboard, but on the external keyboard pressing the caps lock key deletes AND locks caps.

I think I need to set up a section for the external keyboard in the fKeys config file, but I can’t figure out what the key events are. I tried both

      Debug: Events EventsAll
and
      Debug: All

neither places entries in the log file similar to those described in the fKeys interpreter doc. There are other fKeys entries such as PROBE, steal, REPROBE, setProperties, etc.

Thanks,
Cathy

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I also sent an email to the developer of Doublecommand (http://doublecommand.sourceforge.net/). Doublecommand is the perfect tool for the capslock -> delete key replacement on the Mac - hassle free, lightweight, easy to use.

The developer is nice, answered promptly and promised to look into into the enhancement. Of course, everybody has only so much time so he wasn't able to give me a time frame for adding the feature.

Please join me in encouraging him to add this feature - it is so valuable to us. I already made a donation on the Doublecommand web site for his efforts - feel free to do the same if you care about an easy way to do the capslock -> delete replacement on your Mac. Maybe it helps to increase the motivation :-)

Thanks,
mac_colemak

P.S.: If there are qualified C developers out there - please look into enhancing Doublecommand with the capslock -> delete replacement, too. Doublecommand is Open Source.

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Great news for all us Mac users. Doublecommand now has the option to switch the caps lock key to backspace. A minor problem is that the caps not key does not continuously delete when you hold it down. That doesn't bother me that much since I'm mostly using caps lock for quick corrections.

No more ugly hacks to make the key switch - simply check a box and it works like a charm.

Get the latest version here: http://doublecommand.sourceforge.net/

Thanks to Michael who implemented this feature!!!

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Excellent news! Fkeys has always been a bit too fiddly for me.

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Sweet!!! 

  Works beautifully.   I like the options it gives you to start it automatically when you login. 

No more having to setup fKeys every time I reboot.

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Well I guess Doublecommand is all I use now.  My four month old 160GB Seagate hard drive in my Macbook just suddenly died last week, so while waiting for a replacement from Seagate, I upgradeded my old Titanium Powerbook to OS X 10.4.10 from 10.3.9.  Doublecommand install doesn't even require a reboot like fKeys.  Works fine on a G4.

I just checked fKeys website and there is no evidence of any additional efforts since what was posted last summer.  It may not be abandoned but it certainly is on the slow train. 

I wonder if anyone has been using Doublecommand with an external USB keyboards? Some people seemed to have problems with fKeys in that situation.

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Yes, I use DoubleCommand for my external keyboard.  No, fKeys never worked for me.

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http://www.pqrs.org/tekezo/macosx/keyre … extra.html
That has an option to remap caps lock to backspace. If you change caps lock to "no action" in system preferences, it works with key repeat.

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Hey i'm using doublecommand to remap caps lock to backspace but now i have to hit capslock twice to to backspace, rather annoying. Is there a way around this?

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bdizzy said:

Hey i'm using doublecommand to remap caps lock to backspace but now i have to hit capslock twice to to backspace, rather annoying. Is there a way around this?

That shouldn't happen. Are you using an Apple aluminum keyboard by any chance? Then you have to press the caps lock key a few milliseconds longer the first time for it to register.

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No i'm using my macbook keyboard itself, or a microsoft erg something keyboard, it does it on both. Specifically, if you are typing a running sentence and want to backspace once, it works just fine, you hit it once and it backspaces regardless of if the capslock light is on or off. BUT, if you need to backspace more than once (say you type multiple letters incorrectly or want to backspace through a whole word), after your first backspace, it only backspaces when the backspace light is ON. So if you want to backspace and the light is currently off, you have to hit capslock to turn the light on, then hit it again to actually backspace.

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no, no way to get a repeating backspace from the capslock that I am aware of.   

in regards to the last sentence,  I don't see any difference in behavior when the light is on and when it is off.
That shouldn't happen with doublecommand.   Are you sure about that?

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keyboard samurai said:

no, no way to get a repeating backspace from the capslock that I am aware of.

I don't need a reapeating backspace, I just want to be able to backspace through the word colemak, for example, in 7 presses, not 12 as it is currently (explained in detail below).

keyboard samurai said:

in regards to the last sentence,  I don't see any difference in behavior when the light is on and when it is off.
That shouldn't happen with doublecommand.   Are you sure about that?

I'm checking this as a type this post, so i'm sure. Here is what is happening in detail. If I am typing a running sentence and need to backspace once, it works regardless of whether caps lock is on the "on" (light on) or "off" (light off) positions. So if I type coleman and need to backspace the n to turn into a k, I just have to hit capslock once. But, if I want to backspace immediately again, it will only backspace if the light is on. So say I type coleman and want to delete the whole word, assuming initially the caps light is off, one hit to get rid of the n, then the light is on, second hit gets rid of the a, then the light is off, so TWO hits to get rid of the m, and the light is off, so again two hits to get rid of e, l, o, c, each. So a total of 12 hits of capslock.

I swear I've seen another post on here where someone mentioned this effect on their mac casually, but I can't seem to find it now, they said something about doublecommand working, but they had to hit caps a bunch of times to backspace through words.

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I found the other post that mentioned this, turns out they were expressing annoyance as well:

https://forum.colemak.com/viewtopic.php?id=34

Scroll down to vilem's post on Jun 17 17:13:18

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